Monday, September 24, 2012

As I sit here, fingers poised on the keyboard, I find my mind clear, but my heart in turmoil. I know exactly what I want to say, but am having difficulty saying it. For how am I to tell my dear American friends, some in the military and one a retired Lieutenant Colonel, that their country will either disintegrate economically and socially, or start World War Three in last ditch effort and vain attempt to prevent the disintegration from happening?

One way is to guide them on the same path that I have taken, which went through history to the present, so that they will come to the same inescapable conclusion as that at which I have inevitably arrived.

The starting year was 1944, the year of my own beginning, one year prior to the end of World War Two, when, during the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, 44 countries, many of which war-torn and in economic shambles, unanimously established the U.S. Dollar to be the global reserve currency, based firmly on gold at $35 an ounce. In other words, the Dollar, as good and immutable as gold, was set as the international currency to which all other currencies must refer and defer, by which all import-export activities of every country must abide. Even though the entire world was on the gold standard, no gold could be accessed without going through the U.S. Dollar, and since there is only a finite amount of gold in the world, there could only be a finite amount of U.S. Dollars in circulation, which therefore made it in great demand, and gave it immense prestige and power. And since, all countries need the Dollar for international transactions, they purchased and stockpiled it, as well as US treasury bonds and bills, in large volume, making the U.S. the economic overlord and center of the world, and set the U.S. on the road to unprecedented prosperity.

But like everything else, there is a down side. The hitherto unimagined prosperity cultivated in the U.S. a lavish and unsustainable life style rivalled only by royalties bygone, and the Americans themselves began to demand more dollars than there was gold in Fort Knox. Partly due to this, and partly due to the huge drain upon the U.S. treasury by the Vietnamn War, President Nixon took the drastic step, in 1971, to detached the dollar from any physical reserve such as gold or silver, and made it a Fiat Currency, which basically is a floating currency not rooted in any solid commodity, and thus has no intrinsic value. It is based essentially on faith - faith on the country's prosperity. If this faith is strong, then the dollar would be strong, but if this faith wavers, so would the currency waver, and if it wanes, the currency would then wane; and if the faith collapses, then so would collapse the entire dollar-based economy.

Also, since the dollar has been "liberated" from the constraints of finite gold, it can be printed in virtually infinite quantities, and the more paper dollars go into circulation, the less each dollar is worth. This quantity is determined solely by the central bank - the Federal Reserve ("the Fed"), which is independent of the government, immune to governmental audits, beyond governmental control and above governmental supervision. In fact, if the government runs a deficit, it would need to seek interest-bearing loans from the Fed for its expenditure. This is done by means of the government issuing Treasury Bonds to the Fed, which basically is an IOU with compound interest attached, the interest rate being dictated by, you guessed it, also the Federal Reserve.

As of this "Nixon Shock" in 1971, the Dollar began to devalue, and inflation began to take hold of America, both exponentially, becoming steeper and steeper with each passing year - to this day when the national debt to the Fed and other sources top $16 trillion, and the price of gold has risen from the $35 per ounce in 1971 to over $1700 per ounce (as outlined in the first blog of this [Economic Collapse Trilogy] titled [The Imminent Dollar Crash and Social Disintegration]).

Enter the Petrodollar.

It did not escape the attention of Richard Nixon, nor that of his right-hand man Henry Kissinger, the consequent dollar-devaluation and price-inflation. Had they not, the numbers would have been worse, much worse. In attempt to stem this tide, they did place something under the dollar where gold used to be - oil.

About that time, Saudi Arabia, with huge oil reserves, little defense capability and oil-thirsty neighbors far and near, was in a highly vulnerable position. In 1973, Nixon promised King Faisal of the House of Saud that the US would protect his oilfields from any and all threats, be they internal subversives or external intruders, including the then very powerful USSR, in exchange for Saudi Arabia, and by extension OPEC, agreeing to sell their oil in US Dollars only, and to invest their profits in US treasuries, bonds and bills. Accordingly, the countries hitherto abiding by the gold-based dollar now had to invest in and stockpile the oil-based dollar, and continue buying US treasury bills, bonds and securities to ensure that they could continue purchasing OPEC oil. This means that the U.S. profited hugely on the currency market, while gulping its oil intake practically for free. As the world demand for oil grew daily higher, so did the wealth and power of America. Thus, oil became "Black Gold", and the ‘Petrodollar’ was born.

And, like everything else that is born, it will grow, age, weaken and die.

But for the moment, bolstered by the almighty Petrodollar, America rose higher and higher in its global economic hegemony second to none, in the world or in history, and this resulted in a steady US economic growth spiral throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Unfortunately, this proved a long flash in the pan, which began to fizzle as of the opening of the new millennium.

Ask yourselves, even as Americans: Just how long do you expect other countries, with their own cultures, currencies, economies and pride, to subjugate themselves to the domination, manipulations, dictates and unfair advantage of another country, however powerful that other country may be, especially when that power was derived at your own expense? How long would you, as the leader of another country, sacrifice your own modest economy to one that is living beyond its means? And how long, with a strong currency of your own, would you keep converting it into the ever weakening Petrodollar, just so that you could buy oil on the open world market?

From the American stand point, the strength of the Petrodollar is the strength of the Dollar. If the Petrodollar loses its global economic supremacy, the U.S. would lose its global political supremacy. If the Petrodollar falls, the U.S. Dollar will fall, and fall hard, and when it does, the U.S. economy will crash, and when the U.S. economy crashes, the U.S. society will disintegrate. So, it is a matter of national survival to maintain the Petrodollar's status quo in the global market place at whatever cost.

Quite simply, the withdrawal of any country from using the U.S. Dollar in oil transactions, that is, the use of any currency other than the U.S. Dollar in oil transactions by any country, would not be, has not been, is not being and will not be tolerated by the U.S. And the way of the U.S. to prevent or stop any such departure from the Petrodollar is by force, albeit on some other pretext, in some form of disguise.

The new millennium has been one of immediate conflict with the Petrodollar front and center.

In 2001, Saddam Hussein spoke of his plan to sell Iraqi oil for Euros instead of Petrodollars. We all know what happened afterwards and is still happening. Suffice it to say that Iraq is ‘back on track’, selling its oil for Petrodollars once again. Subsequent investigation has discovered that George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice both knew that there was no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq prior to the invasion. Skeptics and conspiracy theorists have speculated that the Iraq war was about seizing and controlling Iraqi oil, and there might be a grain of truth to that, but the real motive was to preserve the Petrodollar in international oil transactions.

Next, Muammar Gaddafi. No doubt, he had an unsavory history, from harboring the Lockerbie Bombers to allowing terrorist training camps on Libyan soil, to trying to buy nuclear weapons from China, India and Pakistan, as well as nerve gas from Thailand, but in spite of over 50 failed assassination attempts against Gaddafi, Libya had been left without major foreign intervention until he uttered his fatal "gold for oil" call to his own and other Muslim countries. And we all know what happened to him afterwards, note-worthy being that the pretext this time was not WMD, and that the Petrodollar was firmly planted back in Lybia.

The third round was much quieter, but just as lethal in terms of character assassination, the pretext this time being personal conduct. In 2011, former head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn suggested supplanting the Dollar with the Euro as oil reserve currency. Within three months, allegations of rape ruined his career and his bid for the French Presidency. The charges were eventually dropped, but the damage was done.

Round Four is now - Iran. In 2005, Iran sought to create an Iranian Oil Exchange to supplant the Petrodollar, but put it on hold under pressure of sanction, in favor of other ways including gold-for-oil with China, India, Russia and South Korea, as well as in their own currencies. Unlike the first three rounds, this fourth round, backed by the second, third and other major powers, might just be the last straw that breaks the Petrodollar's back. In any case, the truth is not what it appears to be. This conflicts has little if anything to do Iran's nuclear ambitions, because Pakistan and North Korea too have nukes, but the U.S. has never threatened them with military action due to their incapability to threaten the Petrodollar.

And it is not the end of the Petrodollar's woes either. Something much bigger is on the brew. The major powers themselves, including China, Russia, Japan, India, Brazil, Australia, Chile, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and several African countries including South Africa, have signed recent agreements on trading oil in their own currencies as well as gold, eleven agreements in all, some say "eleven nails in the Petrodollar's coffin".

Finally, there is a twelveth. Back to where the Petrodollar began, Saudi Arabia itself has teamed up with China to build a gigantic new oil refinery, scheduled to be fully operational in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu by 2014, something of which the U.S. media have hardly made a mention.

So, what will the U.S. do in reaction to all these? All I can say is that I do not envy the next U.S. president - the next Commander In Chief of the massive American military - whoever he is going to be. "To use it or not use it?" - that will be his first and last question.

If in the negative, it will be domestic economic collapse and social disintegration - as outlined in blogs 1 and 2 in this [Economic Collapse Trilogy].

And if in the affirmative, it will be World War 3. With the U.S. military expenditure towering over half of the world's total - $800 billion of about $1.5 trillion - plus those of the U.S. allies, the West might just "win" - in a total war where everyone will lose.

August 27, 2014 - Russia officially announced that its oil and gas sales to China and the E.U. will be transacted in Ruble or Yuan. The collapse the Petrodollar has begun, the U.S. Dollar itself soon to follow.

Friday, September 21, 2012

2013 may be the year when you will adopt a radically new way of life, whether you want to or not, and most won't. And for those who don't, it will be forced upon them: adapt or perish.

In my previous blog titled THE IMMINENT DOLLAR CRASH AND SOCIAL DISINTEGRATION (http://homosapienssaveyourearth.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-imminent-dollar-crash-and-social.html), referring to a hyperinflation scenario, I gave a simplified outline of the cause, and a 10-point summary of what will likely happen to you when the dropping hits the fan. In this Part 2 of 3, I will offer a formula as to how you can deal with it after it has come to pass, but better yet, how to prepare yourself for it before it happens.

Before I get into this, I should mention the factor of the PetroDollar, the dying throes of which could march the globe into World War Three, which I will discuss in the next blog - Part 3 of 3.

For this current blog, I will restrict the discussion to the domestic strife that will consume America after the Dollar Crash.

Let me recap what will happen to the average American, when, not if, the U.S. dollar plunges to, say, 20% of its current worth, then offer a remedy to each of the ten consequences I listed in the previous blog:

1. [Your pay check will be worth next to nothing.] If your current income is, say, $24,000 per annum, its real worth will have sunken to $4,800 per annum, or only $400 per month. Another way of looking at this is that everything will be five times as expensive, with gasoline costing $20 per gallon at the pump instead of the current $4 per gallon. Food prices will be likewise, that is, if there is any food available on the shelf at all, since, given the high fuel cost, the transportation system will likely have ground to a standstill. My advice is to seek an alternative that can quintuple your income. Easier said than done of course, or else everyone would have done it, with or without the hyperinflation. The catch is that such a route would be risky, and you may lose even what you currently have if it fails. I'm talking about investment in those industries or businesses that can keep up with the inflation, or even stay ahead of it. Top on my list are solar panels and food-plant seeds, which will be in great demand. More on this later. For those who do not want to take the risky route, I would suggest to use your current income to purchase those things you will need in the event of a crash, and/or those non-perishable items that you will buy in the future anyway, with or without a crash, such as dried or canned food or rice or spaghetti or even ramein. Also, the essentials such as flash lights, a large magnifying glass as a fire-starter, water containers, water purification tablets, first aid kits, camping equipment, solar panels, wind turbines, rechargeable batteries, all-electrical appliances, an electric scooter, etc. These item can only increase in value, whereas whatever money you have left behind after the crash may not be worth the paper it is printed on.

2. [As the USD is printed out of thin air, your life-saving could evaporate back into thin air.] For those with savings in the form of cash in the bank, my suggestion would be for them to convert it into a more secure currency, e.g. the Canadian dollar, or better yet, gold, and keep it "under your mattress". In the case of hyperinflation, one of its immediate causes, and its immediate effect, is a massive bank run, i.e. everybody trying to withdraw their cash at once, which could force the banks themselves to collapse, and your bank account into worthlessness.

3. [Given the skyrocketing cost of doing business, many companies will fail and fold.] If you work for one of these companies, you will likely lose your job, so analyse its survivability in such a scenario. There are companies and industries that will survive the crash, or at least better than others. Get a job in these industries and your employment will likewise be more secure. In general, any industry that relies heavily on burning fossil fuels, for example, will fold. So if you work for a shipping company using 18-wheelers or air-freight, chances are that they will close and you will join the unemployment line-up. If you work for a local food co-op, on the other hand, it might even get better, if you use the barter system rather than cash.

4. [There will be massive unemployment, perhaps up to 50%.] The important thing here is that if there really is such high unemployment, it would mean that the government has gone bankrupt, and no welfare payments would be forthcoming. You're on your own. So, whether you are currently employed or not, when it comes to the crunch, you cannot look to your government to look after you, or to even to make sure that your most basis needs are met, such as food stamps, much less medicaid. What I would suggest that you do then, especially if you have nothing to barter with for food, is to be able to grow your own, and to have enough unperishable food to last you the initial three months. Instead of saving in cash in the bank, I would save in food in your cellar.

5. [The government will default on social security payments, pension payments, government employee salary payments including that of the military, medicare payments, etc.] Bear in mind that the government has an unfunded obligation to the people, basically a public debt, of over $55 trillion a year, and rising. If the government declares bankruptcy, it could default on any and all payments. We have all heard of people working for companies with financial difficulties who have not received a pay check for weeks or months. If the company folds, of course they won't get paid at all. For all people in civil and public service, including the police and the military, the government is the employer. If the government goes bankrupt, they could stay on out of patriotism, but they wouldn't get paid, and for the retired, they may not receive their pension. As for seniors on old age security and/or pension, they may have to count on their children to support them, who in turned may have lost their own governmental support. Again, my advice is to save up for this rainy day, in real tradable commodities, not in cash, and if in cash, let it be in a secure currency.

6. [Your gasoline cars will be as good as static metallic sculptures rooted to where they are parked.] There may come a day when the country from coast to coast will be littered with gasoline cars that no one would steal, even if they were BMWs or Ferraris with keys in the ignition. The kind of vehicles still in use would be bicycles or electric scooters. Not even electric cars may be prevalent, since the grid may have gone down, and solar panels won't recharge them for all intents and purposes. And of course, if the grid is down, solar panels and storage batteries will be needed. So these are what you should purchase with your money while it still has some purchasing power.

7. [Since the transportation system will have ground to a halt, grocery shelves will empty within days.] Check out your grocery stores and see how much of the food on shelves is imported. You can eliminate them from your life-after-crash. This leaves locally grown food. So, grow your own, or get into the local food production business, which is the kind that will have a future. Bear in mind that if you have food to sell, you will not be paid in cash, much less on credit. And if you live in some enclave in the depths of a major metropolis, such as Los Angeles or New York City, you may have trouble feeding yourself. So, consider moving out to somewhere with at least enough land for a vegetable garden, or a greenhouse.

8. [The water distribution systems could also fail, in which case people living in the depths of a major metropolis, especially one in arid regions, such as Las Vegas or Phoenix, may go as far as dying of thirst if not hunger.] I would move out of these cities while there is still a transportation system by which you can do so, because after it has ground to a halt, to walk out will not be an option. Where to? Somewhere with fresh water year round, of course.

9. [Other than fuel prices going out of reach, the electricity grids too may fail, and people living in those areas with severe winters may freeze to death.] If you live in, say, Montana or Minnesota or Missouri or even the New England states, you would be well advised to move down south, southeast or the west coast, anywhere with mild, survivable winters. Imagine a winter in Chicago without heating.

10. [There will be robbing, looting, rioting and home invasions - in general an overall disintegration of the American society as we know it.] For this reason alone, a major metropolis is not a good place to be, especially when the police forces may not then be operational. I would move out to the country and ride it out, with a good defense system for good measure.

No time to be polite. Though I hope that you have found the above helpful, I have to add, "Ignore it at your own peril and that of your children."

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Let's start off being nice and simple, and personal. Suppose your income in 2004 was $12,390, gradually rising to $13,430 by 2011. And suppose you over-spent your income in this period by the following amounts:

It does not take an Einstein to figure out that this is unsustainable, and that by about 2013, you will be faced with three appalling alternatives:

1. to borrow some more, assuming that you can find a lender that would lend anything to you, or
2. if you can't, to default on your loan and declared bankruptcy, or
3. to print your own fake money, at risk imprisonment.

This, in a nutshell, though the real situation is more complex than this, is what the financial picture of the mighty United States of America looks like. Just add 9 zeros to the above to make the amounts in the BILLIONS.

The real situation is in fact far worse, because on top of the U.S. national debt, owed to the banks and other nations, which in 2011 towered at $15,400 BILLION or $15.4 TRILLION, there are also the unfunded commitments in the forms of social security, medicare coverage, pensions, etc, amounting to some $55 trillion, which essentially is a debt owed to the American public.

So, all in all the U.S. owes to various parties a total of over $70,000 billion or over $70 trillion as we speak, and mounting.

While up to 1970 the U.S. dollar (USD) was based on gold, in 1971, Pres. Nixon switched it to a Fiat Currency, allowing the independent central bank - the Federal Reserve (FED) - to print money out of thin air. One of the ways that the U.S. has been trying to maintain an appearance of financial solvency is by the FED printing an amount of USD needed to cover the debt - at an interest (of the above said ~3% charged against the government, i.e. the people).

An effect of massively printing money out of nothing and releasing it into the American financial pool is that the USD is devalued, leading to inflation. It is not that the commodities are rising in value, but that the USD is losing its purchasing power.

If pushed too far, it would lead to hyperinflation, which could render the USD almost worthless. The gasoline pump price today floats around $4 per gallon. In the scenario of hyperinflation, the dollar could shrink very quickly, meaning in terms of days, to, say, 20 cents to the dollar, and the gasoline pump price could rise to $20 per gallon almost overnight.

On the surface, the U.S. financial picture is one of soundness and stability, and even after the 2008 crash, one of recovery. Nothing can be farther from the truth, and yet, via the government and corporate controlled media, the gullible public has been made to swallowed this, line, hook and sinker, and carry on consuming as per the great "American Dream", which, unfortunately, will turn into the huge American NIGHTMARE in short order.

This is considered by experts to be a mathematical certainty.

Financial experts has been predicting an American financial meltdown for years, and their estimated time frame has become shorter and shorter, first in terms of years, then months, some even say weeks. Now, they by and large predict that the crash will occur some time in 2013, if not in 2012.

Coming back down to the personal level, what will happen to you as an American citizen if this comes to pass?

1. Your pay check would be worth next to nothing.

2. As the USD is printed out of thin air, your life-saving could evaporate back into thin air.

3. Given the skyrocketing cost of doing business, many companies will fail and fold.

4. There will be massive unemployment, perhaps up to 50%.

5. The government will default on social security payments, pension payments, government employee salary payments including that of the military, medicare payments, unemployment insurance payments, etc., etc.

6. Your gasoline cars will be as good as static metallic sculptures rooted to where they are parked.

7. Since the transportation system will have ground to a halt, grocery shelves will empty within days.

8. The water distribution systems could also fail, in which case people living in the depths of major metropolises, e.g. Los Angeles or Chicago, may go as far as dying of thirst if not hunger.

9. Other than fuel prices going out of reach, the electricity grids too may fail, and people living in those areas with severe winters may freeze to death.

10. There will robbing, looting and rioting in the street and invasion of private residences - in general an overall disintegration of the American society as we know it.

This is as far as I will go in this blog. I will have more to say about the GLOBAL economic melt-down, the crash of the U.S. Petrodollar, the likelihood of World War 3, and how you can deal with and survive all these calamities on a personal level. But they will be said in subsequent blogs. Stay tuned, if your dare.

Ps: Most people don't "like" posts like this. The netiquette, however, is that when you click "like", it is for the quality of the article and/or the efforts put into researching and writing it, not about whether the news delivered is pleasant to the reader or not. If people don't click "like" when they don't like the message, they "shoot the messenger", and it discourages him from further efforts. So please click "like" if you consider this blog well done and worthwhile. Thank you.

Friday, September 14, 2012

This could be the worst news about marine ecology of all time, so, except for those whose heads are perpetually in the sand, please read very carefully.

Phytoplankton has since the 1950s declined 40% globally, or 1% per year on average. The decline is especially severe near the poles where the loss has been 90% (see Diagram 1), and the tropics.

Phytoplankton serves three important functions:

1. It absorbs dissolved carbon dioxide from ocean waters. This prevents the oceans from becoming acidified, and severe acidification can cause massive extinction. At the End-Permian 251 million years ago, global-warming-related ocean acidification did cause a 95% mass-extinction of marine species, including all corals.

2. It releases oxygen into the oceans and the atmosphere, to about the same extent as the terrestrial plants, replenishing that previously removed by the animals and by oxidation of various kinds including combustion.

3. It serve as foundational source for the entire marine food pyramid. No phytoplankton, no zooplankton. No plankton, no fish. No fish, no marine mammals and birds.

Unfortunately, anthropogenic greenhouse gasses independently lead to ocean warming and acidification (see Diagram 2), which cause decline of the phytoplankton, rendering it ineffective in alleviating acidification as well as oxygen regeneration.

We are driving marine ecology into a death spiral with our current way of life. Unless we radically change our course, we are dooming our own children to hell on Earth.

"Can this be changed in time?" asks Shannon Wright.

Anthony Marr's answer: "Other than a total greening of technology and way of life, we need massive geo-engineering to deacidify the oceans and recool the planet, which requires INTEGRATIVE TRANSCENDENCE of the nations into a single global civilization known in the OMNISCIENTIFIC COSMOLOGY as the PLANETARY ORGANISM of which the nations shall be organs. Can we do it? Of course miracles CAN happen. Will this one happen? It is up to us."

For more details, see this Scientific American article for more details:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=phytoplankton-population

12:09 am September 7, 2012
RC wrote:
Cathay ships only a tiny portion the sharks’ fin traded through Hong Kong. Most fin traders ship by sea. This is just another example of an uninformed, empty gesture by expatriate executives who spend too much time listening to lesbian tree huggers to expiate for their real economic crimes of price fixing (Cathay airfares), price gouging (Opus), & front running (share buybacks). The only things that should be kicked off Cathay flights are the senior Swire & Cathay executives who make these empty, worthless decisions.

2:40 pm September 7, 2012
Wicks wrote:
Approx 1,300 metric tons are shipped by air… That’s a victory, albeit a small one but a victory nonetheless.

4:18 pm September 7, 2012
SinoScuba wrote:
It’s great to see Asian leadership on this issue. Not only Cathay, but hotels like Peninsula and Shangri-La, but also companies like Alibaba.com.

5:59 pm September 7, 2012
Myk wrote:
It’s a start. If it encourages more companies to follow suit, then it’s a good thing.

5:59 pm September 7, 2012
Hs wrote:
Is this even a question?

7:40 pm September 7, 2012
Republican Dan wrote:
Great job. I hope more companies will follow their actions.

7:50 pm September 7, 2012
Jeff wrote:
This is like asking if companies would be correct to refuse to transport elephant ivory or tiger skins. OF COURSE it’s the right thing to do!

9:16 pm September 7, 2012
Matt from Perth wrote:
Every company, every politician and every person needs to do all they can to stop this barbaric industry that is accelerating the death of our oceans. Great work Cathay Pacific!

10:05 pm September 7, 2012
Rachelle wrote:
I’m really proud of Cathay Pacific for taking this step to defend the ocean’s keystone predators. They definitely have my business next time I’m flying!

11:27 pm September 7, 2012
S. Stern wrote:
YES! We need more good news like this!

11:37 pm September 7, 2012
Chris Lamb wrote:
I agree with and support the ban 100%.

11:39 pm September 7, 2012
Cameron lamb wrote:
Absolutely!

11:47 pm September 7, 2012
K. McRoberts wrote:
A small victory is still a victory for sharks!
More has to be done to combat this unsustainable
Trade.

11:49 pm September 7, 2012
Ivor Moody wrote:
Totally support Cathy Pacific on this decision! Our worlds oceans need much more protection and any step, no matter how small deserves credit and support. On the business side I will certainly avail of Cathy Pacfic and their services in future.

11:49 pm September 7, 2012
Jessica Thomas wrote:
Absolutely!!!!!

12:06 am September 8, 2012
Leila wrote:
As much as 98 or 99 percent of many shark species have been destroyed, and finning is unspeakably cruel.. Of course it should be banned! It’s about time!!!

12:22 am September 8, 2012
Liesl wrote:
So happy with their decision! Shark finning is barbaric.

12:39 am September 8, 2012
Michelle wrote:
This maybe a small victory but it’s a start to ending the killing of millions of sharks. Once small companies stop supporting the trade it will put pressure to stop as well. The more this is in the news the better. This should have stopped decades ago!

12:59 am September 8, 2012
Anthony Marr wrote:
Then it was elephant ivory, rhino horn, tiger bone, bear bile, now is the time to ban shark fins, outright, worldwide!

1:59 am September 8, 2012
Anonymous wrote:
Please ban shark finning

2:26 am September 8, 2012
Anonymous wrote:
This is a huge step in saving sharks. Now to totally cut off Asia from shark fins.

2:37 am September 8, 2012
Anonymous wrote:
Even if they ban shark finning it will only go underground in the black market like everything else

2:57 am September 8, 2012
Anonymous wrote:
A step in the right direction!

3:02 am September 8, 2012
Evs wrote:
A step in the right direction! Lets keep fighting for these beautiful beings!

4:08 am September 8, 2012
Phyllis wrote:
Yes I agree it should be banned! Sharks are an important part of the underwater world which most people don’t have a clue about!

5:01 am September 8, 2012
Wibke wrote:
It should be banned I agree. However, I think the “unsustainable species” are not enough. Shark finning is the worst procedure for sharks. Most of the time sharks get cut of their fins alive and go back in the water to die. I don’t think any shark (sustainable or not) should go through this. Sometimes human act without any respect or thinking. I’m ashamed by the cruelty against annals in our world.

6:11 am September 8, 2012
Ellen O'Connor wrote:
Absolutely horrendous to attack sharks. Applaud alll those smart enough to work against the practice.

8:29 pm September 8, 2012
Deepdiver wrote:
Absolutely “job well done” Cathay Pacific. Banning any shark fin products as cargo is a strong message that we should do our best to protect our planet Earth. This act qualifies your airline as being eco-friendly in my book. I flew your airline a few years ago and I was impressed with your service and quality. I will definitely fly Cathay Pacific again in the future and I will for sure recommend you highly to all my friends. Thank you for supporting the plight of sharks!!!!!

9:28 pm September 8, 2012
Yara wrote:
Absoltely pioneering move from Cathay. Good on them an example to other companies . Action must be taken!

Friday, September 7, 2012

5 billion years ago, there was no Sun, no Earth, no Venus, No Mars, No Jupiter, no Saturn..., just a local cloud of star dust resulting from an ancient supernova explosion in one remote corner on the periphery of the Milky Way Galaxy.

4.6 billion years ago, gravity pulled the cloud into a core which became a new star - the Sun - surrounded by a spinning disc which condensed into the planets. Thus the Solar System was born.

The third planet - the Earth - situated in the life-zone of the Sun, developed life, where the original molecules integratively transcended into unicellular organisms, which in turn integratively transcended into multi-cellular organisms, which, via evolution, eventually gave rise to our species.

And our species, which calls itself Homo sapiens, "Man the Wise", integratively transcended into human-based societies, which evolved into technological nations, which drink oil for energy and exhale so much carbon dioxide as to heat the planet into a death spiral.

Unless the nations, mutually competitive and destructive, in turn integratively transcend into an internally differentiated and cooperative global civilization, or planetary organism, with its previous nations serving as organs, three quarters of all species on Earth would go extinct within a split second of geological time, Homo sapiens likely included.

INTEGRATIVE TRANSCENDENCE - the Tao, the Way of the Cosmos, the Path of Life, the Key to Salvation.

Monday, September 3, 2012

If this diagram does not squeeze a touch of reality through the blind eyes of the global warming deniers into their distorted brains, nothing else will, although they will still deny that it is caused by humans.

For the rest of us, the blue line of 2012 has clearly and substantially dipped below the already shocking dotted line of the 2007 Great Melt, and it is not over yet. In all likelihood, it will break the 3 million sq.km. threshold before the summer melt is over later this month. Won't be long now before the Arctic summer becomes ice-free, and the Methane Time-Bomb blasts off big time. Brace yourself for the scariest ride of your life!

Meanwhile, the oil companies and oil-controlled governments are already rubbing their hands in anticipation of the great bonanza to come. They can't set up their rigs on the shifting ice cap, but once the ice is gone, the Arctic will become the Gulf of the North. And every drill bit piercing the Arctic Ocean floor will be another nail in our coffin.

The only way for us to save ourselves and life on Earth now is to defeat them all and wage a full scale Global Green Revolution.

About Anthony Marr

Anthony Marr
* has a degree in physics
* is the author of "OMNI-SCIENCE and the Human Destiny" (2003) and "Homo Sapiens SAVE YOUR EARTH" (2008)
* 1995, he cleaned up N. American Chinatowns of endangered species medicines
* 1996, he led "the highest-profile anti-trophy-hunting campaign in Canada" (Globe and Mail).
* 1997-1999, he worked in 3 tiger reserves in India.
* 1999, he founded Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE).
* 2004/2005, he conducted operations in Japan against whaling and dolphin slaughter.
* 2003-2011, completed 7 Compassion for Animals Road Expeditions (CARE tours, each covering 30-45 states over 4-7 months), and spoke at the National AR Conference every year
* 2009, he founded the Global Anti-Hunting Coalition (GAHC)
* 2010, he won the Henry Spira Grassroots Activist Award.
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.facebook.com/AnthonyMarr001
www.HomoSapiensSaveYourEarth.blogspot.com
www.AnthonyMarr13.wordpress.com
www.Dying-for Salvation.blogspot.com